My Side of the Story: Snow Monster
by Fegerrific
Summary: What would you do to be with the one you love? Me, I disguised myself as a terrifying snow monster to get my happily-ever-after. Maybe not the most...romantic...option possible. This is my story...
1. Forbidden Union

**Have you ever loved someone so much that you'd do anything for them? My Cindy is that someone. She was the answer to a dream I've had for a long, long time. I may have taken things too far by this Snow Monster scheme, but it was the only way! I'm going to tell the whole story, and then you'll see that I'm only guilty of one crime: the crime of loving her too much.**

Cam slid the deadbolt snugly into its metal casing and, whistling idly, fastened the chain across the door. He poked the cold, grey embers in the fireplace before climbing upstairs to bed. He grimaced as the top stair let out a shrill squeak of protest that threatened to wake up most of the guests. With amusement, he noticed that Terrence's light was still on, so he poked his head in to say goodnight.

" 'Night, Terrence," Cam whispered to the elderly man sleeping on the bed, who awoke with a start.

"What? Huh? I was just resting my eyes," Terrence mumbled. "Oh, its you, Cam. Glad you're still up. I want to talk to you."

Puzzled, Cam strode into the room, the hardwood floors groaning under his feet. "What's up?" He perched on the edge of the bed, avoiding Terrence's bad leg under the covers.

Terrence rubbed his eyes and stroked his gray mustache. "I'm an old man," he began. "I'm not going to be around forever, you know. I…just…want to make sure that you'll take care of Cindy for me…when I'm gone. I'm all she has left."

"No. She's got me, too," Cam interrupted. "I won't let you down, Terrence."

"I know, Cam…I know..." With a sigh, he rolled over and was soon snoring contentedly.

Cam gave a weak chuckle and flicked off the bedroom light before creeping down the hall to see Cindy. He snuck into her room and slipped under the covers to join her in dreamland.

**After that night, I got to thinking about, well, the future. I knew that the frozen northland was no place to raise a family together, but I knew that Cindy wouldn't leave her grandpa alone to fend for himself. So while she was out with guests on the ski slopes, Terrence and I had a chat.**

"Let me get this straight, son," Terrence wheezed. "You want ME to sell this old place? So you two can go off'n get married and leave me to retire to an old folks' home in Miami!?"

Cam bit his lip. "Well, it didn't sound that bad until you said it like that," he mumbled apologetically. **"**Never mind."

Terrence grabbed Cam's arm. "I was JOKING! Cam, my boy, that's the best idea I've heard in a while. But I've been trying to sell this old place for years. No one wants it any more than I do!"

"Really?" Cam grimaced. "So what would happen if you had to sell the place a little…cheaper?"

"Cheaper? People would probably flock to buy it…but how would I do that?"

"You know that old snow monster legend 'round these parts?" asked Cam with a wicked grin.

"That bunch of hooey?" Terrence scoffed. "What about it?"

"Well, what if it became real?"

**And that's how it started. We agreed that I'd dress up as the legendary snow monster and drive down the land's value so Terrence could finally sell the lodge and we could leave this chilly northland. Since I got the firewood all the time and was constantly in and out of the lodge anyway, no one would miss me while I was playing snow monster. It worked well; guests stopped showing up and people cancelled their reservations. Mentally, I was counting down the days until I would become Mr. Cam Squall! (What? You expected me to keep the name 'Filbert'?)**

"I just don't understand it," Terrence moaned, hanging up the phone after another cancellation. "If'n business don't pick up soon, I'll have to close down the lodge and expire!"

"You mean 'retire,' grandpa," Cindy corrected gently, pressing a mug of cocoa into his hands. "And people will show back up, I promise."

"Not if that snow monster keeps scarin' em away, they won't," Terrence retorted.

Cam placed an elbow on the mantle and sighed deeply. "Snow monster? Isn't that just an old legend?" he asked. "I've been fetchin' firewood in all kinds of weather and I've NEVER seen any snow monster."

Terrence's gray mustache turned up at the corners. "Don't be too quick to dismiss legends."

Cindy hauled herself off the couch with a groan. "I'm going to get more cocoa. When I get back, we'd better be on a different topic than made-up monsters." Cam and Terrence shared a secret smirk.

As Cindy vanished into the kitchen, the phone jangled loudly. Terrence picked it up, expecting another cancellation. "Hello. Big Pine Lodge, Terrence Squall speaking." He grabbed a notepad and began scribbling down information. "Yes. Yes. Ms. Daphne Blake, is it? Okay, five guests; two males, two females and…a dog? Yes, we can do that. We'll be expecting you. Okay, bye."

"Who was that?" Cindy asked, breezing into the room with a steaming mug of cocoa.

"Guests for this weekend!" Terrence replied with forced enthusiasm. While Cindy cheered, Terrence and Cam exchanged worried looks.

**This complicated things. I knew I had to scare them so badly they wouldn't want to come back. Also, later that day, Mr. Ruckus made a reservation as well. Now I had six people to scare away! And to make matters worse, no one had offered to buy the lodge! But you know what they say about desperate times… **


	2. Ski Trip Spook

Out on the slopes with the five guests, Cindy strapped herself into her favorite purple skis before turning to the cowardly dog. "Hey, Scooby. Ready to go?"

The dog yipped in fright and cowered behind his lanky owner. "Like, nothing's going to get him down that mountain!" the teen replied, trying (and failing) to coax his pet onto a snowboard. Cam, dressed in his snow monster costume, concealed himself behind the ski shack. He roared loudly before shambling towards them to frighten them off. Cindy, the dog and the teenager quickly raced down the mountain in fear, leaving Cam behind to snicker at a job well done.

**I think that was the first time Cindy had ever seen me in full getup. After scaring them all witless, I raced off into the woods to find Mr. Ruckus and see if I could get rid of him. As I was running through the woods, my costume caught on a pine branch. I tugged it free, leaving behind a shred of my scarf. Not having time to mourn its loss, I left it hanging and went off for Ruckus, but I ended up stumbling onto those kids again!**

Roaring loudly, Cam rushed into the clearing. But instead of Mr. Ruckus, the costumed Cam found the dog, the bespectacled girl and the lanky teen half-carrying Terrence through the forest. Upon seeing Cam, the girl with the glasses grabbed Terrence and hustled him down a trail, leaving the lanky teen and his dog alone. Forgoing Terrence and the girl, Cam instead rushed after the pair of cowards, chasing them through the forest.

**I didn't bother chasing after those two clowns for long. Instead, I left them screaming at nothing and went to complete my alibi by getting firewood and returning to the lodge. I didn't expect to find my girl nearly inconsolable! I had no idea Terrence was planning on faking his own disappearance like that! So I did what any good boyfriend would do...**

Cam pulled his girlfriend into an embrace and stroked her tenderly. "It'll be fine," he murmured. "Terrence can take care of himself." A sob rose from the parka. "If it will make you feel better, I'll go out and find him for you."

Terrence appeared inside the lodge with the girl. "No need," she interrupted. Cindy raced over with a shout of joy. Behind her, Cam breathed a sigh of relief.

**Those kids had 'found' Terrence and everyone was happy. But I still had to deal with Ruckus. If he stuck around for too long it would ruin the whole plan. So I excused myself again and went in search of him. But it didn't quite go as planned…**

Cam listened carefully for any sounds of Mr. Ruckus. Hearing the telltale rush of skis on snow, he blundered through the forest to the barn. Letting out a snarl, he dashed out of the forest, only to find the cowardly teen and his dog playing in the snow! 'You again?' Cam thought, giving chase once again. 'You fools are really putting me off schedule.' Cam chased after the pair, snarling viciously. Suddenly, he found himself tumbling down the mountain with the boy and his dog. At last, the jostling stopped as the trio ended up outside of Big Pine Lodge. Terrence snatched Cam from the snowball and yanked off his mask.

**It hurt hearing the betrayal and heartbreak in Cindy's voice when she found out it was me. But Terrence played his part beautifully, faking irritation and blame before 'escorting' me off to 'jail.' But all the acting in the world wasn't enough for that brainiac Thelma girl. She'd managed to figure out Terrence's involvement in the scheme as well! After begging for forgiveness, I proposed right then and there! And we're now happily married with a daughter on the way!**


End file.
